Archive for month: July, 2009

Bing has announced they are now displaying Twitter results for a few thousand “prominent and prolific” Twitterers in their search results. The Twitter results show the person’s latest Tweets and a link to “see more tweets” from that user.

TechCrunch reports that YouTube is adding a new ad type to its ad mix named “Call-To-Action Overlay” ads. These ads are very simple, they basically allow you to add a link to a third-party site, off of YouTube. The ad is a transparent background with an ad description and link to any site you want.

Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO), a global Internet media company, announced it has surpassed 16 million subscribers to its global publications, growing by more than one million subscribers during the past three months.

Google released their latest labs project called “City Tours” last week; I was quick to jump on the bandwagon and take a look, but I resisted from posting right away because I wanted to think a little more deeply about the implications of the application.
Let’s not forget that Google is a powerhouse and, if they wanted to, develop and release ANY travel application they want…..

https://lodginginteractive.com/wp-content/uploads/logo-lodging-interactive-2016dark340.png00djvallaurihttps://lodginginteractive.com/wp-content/uploads/logo-lodging-interactive-2016dark340.pngdjvallauri2009-07-17 01:30:002009-07-17 01:30:00Why Google City Tours Are Important

A cloud is rolling in on the hospitality industry. But fortunately this
cloud isn't symbolic of the future the health of the lodging business.
No, this cloud is all about taking computer power out of the hotel and
shifting to a third party.

It's an idea that's been bandied
about for more than a decade amongst IT professionals, but has been met
with limited success through so-called application service providers
(ASPs). But now that high speed internet connectivity is seemingly
universal amongst businesses in the United States, it looks as if the
stars are finally aligning just right to make the cloud a viable
solution for the lodging business.

As the summer vacation season kicks off, U.S. hotels saw an increase in customers AND customer satisfaction. On average, U.S. hotels showed increased improvements for the month of June, posting modest gains in every section but Room satisfaction (3.59, a decrease of 3.23% from May’s 3.71). On a scale of 1-5, 5 being “fantastic” and 1 being “poor,” the average hotel goer reported the greatest gains in Dining experience, increasing from an average of 3.45 in May 2009 to 3.65 in June (+5.8%). Most other average hotel scores remained in the 3% improvement territory: Resultant Quality Scores increased 3.58% (3.63 to 3.76), Housekeeping improved 3.40% (3.47 to 3.59), Staff scores rose 3.19% (3.76 to 3.88), and Value satisfaction increased 3.85% (3.64 to 3.78). The smallest area of improvement was Facilities, which posted a 3.98 score in May and a 4.07 score in June (+2.26%). Overall, Luxury and Extended-Stay Hotels showed the most improvement, while Up- and Mid-Scale facilities showed the greatest declines.

A negative online reputation can severely limit a hotel's ability
to succeed today. With more and more people using the internet to make
their travel plans, reviews by other travelers are playing an
increasingly large role.

If your hotel has received negative
reviews, you need a solid action plan to work around them. And that's
exactly what I intend to do in this post. Let's get started…

Inflation-adjusted spending on travel and tourism in the U.S. declined
at an annual rate of 5.9% in the first quarter after falling 6.9% in
the first quarter, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said. (In comparison, the overall economy shrank at a 5.7% rate in the first quarter and a 6.3% rate in the fourth.)

https://lodginginteractive.com/wp-content/uploads/logo-lodging-interactive-2016dark340.png00djvallaurihttps://lodginginteractive.com/wp-content/uploads/logo-lodging-interactive-2016dark340.pngdjvallauri2009-07-07 01:41:002009-07-07 01:41:00The Travel Industry is Shrinking in The US

A lot of the innovation in search these days is all about What’s happening right now? Twitter is the poster child where real-time search is concerned, and despite its ongoing spam problem, Twitter Trends has become one of the primary places to get a snapshot of what’s happening now.
Google Blog Search is getting in the game with its announcement today of “Hot Queries,” a new addition that appears in the upper right corner of the Google Blog Search home page. It shows 10 queries that are “happening now” — or, “A lot of the innovation in search these days is all about What’s happening right now? Twitter is the poster child where real-time search is concerned, and despite its ongoing spam problem, Twitter Trends has become one of the primary places to get a snapshot of what’s happening now.
Google Blog Search is getting in the game with its announcement today of “Hot Queries,” a new addition that appears in the upper right corner of the Google Blog Search home page. It shows 10 queries that are “happening now” — or, “currently popular” in Google’s words — in Blog Search. What we don’t know is if the list is ranked in actual order, or randomized; and we don’t know how often the Hot Queries list is refreshed.
That’s not the only new addition to the Google Blog Search home page; right below Hot Queries is a section called “Latest Posts,” which shows (and links to) 10 recent posts from “popular blogs.” Google hasn’t given any indication how it chooses which blogs to feature in this space.
Perhaps the most utilitarian new addition to Google Blog Search is RSS and Atom feeds that let users subscribe to any topic or story. Links for those are in the left column.
Lastly, there’s also an iGoogle Gadget that lets users embed the Google Blog Search home page on their iGoogle page.
Matt McGee is the Search Engine Land Assignment Editor, and offers search marketing consulting and training to businesses of all sizes. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and HyperlocalBlogger.com.
See more articles by Matt McGee >
Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article popular” in Google’s words — in Blog Search. What we don’t know is if the list is ranked in actual order, or randomized; and we don’t know how often the Hot Queries list is refreshed.
That’s not the only new addition to the Google Blog Search home page; right below Hot Queries is a section called “Latest Posts,” which shows (and links to) 10 recent posts from “popular blogs.” Google hasn’t given any indication how it chooses which blogs to feature in this space.
Perhaps the most utilitarian new addition to Google Blog Search is RSS and Atom feeds that let users subscribe to any topic or story. Links for those are in the left column.
Lastly, there’s also an iGoogle Gadget that lets users embed the Google Blog Search home page on their iGoogle page.
Matt McGee is the Search Engine Land Assignment Editor, and offers search marketing consulting and training to businesses of all sizes. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and HyperlocalBlogger.com.
See more articles by Matt McGee >
Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article